Why are jumpsuits/one pieces a good idea in Starfleet?

[Tosk]

^ You don't think it would have been easier to simply make it a two-piece from the get-go, just so the actors would have an easier time getting into and out of uniform?

Sure? But I'm not talking about what's easier, I'm talking about what is. Go and watch any ep where you see the uniform clearly, there is no material break at the waist. They are cinched with (elastic?) at the sides, but the material and zip continues on down past the point where the "jacket" ends when taken off.

First pic I could find showing clear lack of jacket/pants split...

http://ds9.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x01/emissary227.jpg

Tom going into brig...

http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/5x09/thirtydays_019.jpg

Tom in brig...

http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/5x09/thirtydays_053.jpg

His "jacket" comes off and the undershirt is discarded for a smaller one.

 

[velour]

Was it done through editing trickery like when Ro took off her jacket that didn't really exist?

I don't recall exactly how it went down, when Ro's uniform jacket came off. Was the scene shown without edit?

I got the impression that uniform jackets had a seam/zipper on the back. When Ro draped her jacket over the Bajoran child, it appeared that the jacket opened from the front.

In any case, Ro looked good in that sleeveless undershirt.

 

[Tosk]

I don't recall exactly how it went down, when Ro's uniform jacket came off. Was the scene shown without edit?

No, the cut is needed to pull off the uniform trick.

I got the impression that uniform jackets had a seam/zipper on the back. When Ro draped her jacket over the Bajoran child, it appeared that the jacket opened from the front.

That is what happened, yeah. Forbes is wearing her zipped-up-the-back uniform, then with an editing assist she removes the outer jacket which now opens in the front and gives it to the kid. It's presumably to try and present the unknown futuristic no-zippers technology, even though we can see the real world zips most of the time.

 

[Phil123]

Some interesting and fun points made. I think FC era uniforms had both 2 piece and 1 piece variants.

https://www.yourprops.com/movieprop...Trek-Nemesis-Geordi-s-Starfleet-Uniform-1.jpg

Data is definitely in a jumpsuit in First Contact.

I think in general the jumpsuits don't make a whole lot of sense. Current Military environments are very different to start ships. DS9 and engineering may be exceptions.

None of this is to mention the horror that must be living without pockets every day!

 

[F. King Daniel]

Somebody thinks they're somehow futuristic. That's all there is to it.

And then they usually end up changing to two-piece costumes after years of complaints from the actors.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

TOS 2 piece

Jumpsuits also were worn on TOS, as uniforms.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Starfleet_uniform_(mid_2260s-early_2270s)#Duty_jumpsuit

 

[Xhiandra]

Hiding O'Brien's builder's crack.

 

[Phil123]

Haha! Yes it definitely makes for someone with a job like O'Bien to have a jumpsuit/coverall type uniform. Maybe it makes sense for all, I just find it odd why starfleet seems to switch back and forth between them. I understand the real world reasons of course.

 

[Timo]

Here's something I can't figure out - what is the "problem" with jumpsuits to begin with?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[C.E. Evans]

It could be that some may think they've been relied on too much in Trek. Or it may be that some don't like them perhaps.

 

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

Using the toilet is taboo in the Federation. Everyone wears jumpsuits. Microtransporters implanted in the bladder and intestine beam bodily waste straight into the replicator system (or onto an enemy's doorstep). So the one piece outfits are basically a way of bragging to other, less advanced races.

 

[UssGlenn]

In universe, I think all the 24th Century uniforms are 2 pieces, except maybe TNG season 1 style. Whenever we think we are seeing a jumpsuit it's actually futuristic invisible seams and joins. The jacket bonds to the pants invisibly. This keeps the lines of the uniform sharp no matter how the person is moving. It's only the actors who are wearing the jumpsuits, to simulate the look. Ever TNG season 1 style could be 2 pieces, we just don't ever see anyone take off the jacket.

 

[velour]

I remember Picard would often grab the bottom of his jacket with both hands and pull the jacket downward, adjusting the jacket, presumably to make it more comfortable for him.

Of all the characters, I remember Picard doing that more often than anyone else. Picard would almost always do that when he would stand up from a sitting position. Presumably, the uniform was a two piece whenever he did that.

I don't know which season(s) the TNG uniform may have actually been a one-piece.

Whatever the case, the way the TNG uniform was designed, with the bottom and sides of the jacket being black, and the pants being black as well, I think it gave the illusion that the entire outfit might have been one piece, even when it was actually a two piece. The top appeared to blend almost seamlessly with the bottom.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Using the toilet is taboo in the Federation. Everyone wears jumpsuits. Microtransporters implanted in the bladder and intestine beam bodily waste straight into the replicator system (or onto an enemy's doorstep). So the one piece outfits are basically a way of bragging to other, less advanced races.

OH MY GOD THEY HAVE TO BE NAKED TO POOP

 

[Tosk]

I don't know which season(s) the TNG uniform may have actually been a one-piece.

For main characters, seasons 1 and 2. They became two-piece affairs in season 3. (But just the dudes. The ladies got kept in single-piece uniforms.)

 

[Phil123]

Here's something I can't figure out - what is the "problem" with jumpsuits to begin with?

Timo Saloniemi

Not necessarily a problem, just wondering why the back and forth. The toilet thing is of course a potential issue, as is personal temperature control. I take jumpers/jackets off all the time, not possible with DS9/FC uniforms, unless you are the captain and get a 2 piece.

The first few seasons DS9 uniforms are in fact one of my favorites, if not my favorite.

 

[The Wormhole]

I remember Picard would often grab the bottom of his jacket with both hands and pull the jacket downward, adjusting the jacket, presumably to make it more comfortable for him.

Of all the characters, I remember Picard doing that more often than anyone else. Picard would almost always do that when he would stand up from a sitting position. Presumably, the uniform was a two piece whenever he did that.

That's known among fans as the Picard Maneuver.

 

[Betelnut]

Sisko tugs at the jacket quite often also.